PUJOLS MORE THAN THE GAME BY SCOTT LAMB AND TIM ELLSWORTH

I’m not a sports fan; nor am I a fan of biographies. So it was a little strange to me that I chose to review the book about Albert Pujols. If you’re a baseball fan you know who he is. If you’re not then you might be forgiven for not knowing that he is said to be on his way to being one of greatest baseball players ever. In just over 10 seasons of playing he has hit more home runs than Babe Ruth and has more RBI’s than Hank Aaron and more hits than Pete Rose did at the same age. He is 31 years old.

Besides being a great baseball player, Albert Pujols is also a Christian. And that’s why I wanted to read the book. Professional athletes with a good reputation are getting harder to find so when someone like Pujols comes around he is worth reading and writing about.

This is definitely a book about baseball. It’s a chronicle of his years playing with the St Louis Cardinals. It is heavy on stats; but people who like sports love stats! Woven among the baseball stats are stories about Albert’s life and faith. He is a strong believer who is actively sharing his faith, even to the point of witnessing to players who stand on first base with him.

The book portrays the good and bad. It doesn’t sugar coat his moodiness and ability to annoy people. It does give us a glimpse into a life lived in a fish bowl. It addresses the steroids issue going so far as devoting a whole chapter as a defense of Pujols and insisting that he is clean.

One quote attributed to Albert shows the kind of player he is. He said “This is my job, I get paid a lot of money to play this game, and I know the people expect a lot from me” (pg. 187) Another quote shows the kind of Christian he is. He says, “I don’t want to be remembered as the best baseball player ever. I want to be remembered as a great guy who loved the Lord, loved to serve the community and who gave back.” (pg.189)

I really wanted to like this book but I did find it a little dull. I think if you are a true sports fan and like all the stats and rehashing of games played then you will enjoy this book.